John the Baptist came to preach good news.  It began and ended with a call to repentance which leads to forgiveness. He warned the Jews of his day to beware a smug contentment with law keeping or ancestry as their hope for acceptance by God.  By resting in such false assurance they would be among the ones […]

The ministry of John the Baptist was short but eventful.  He came to herald the coming of the Messiah, God’s greatest saving act.  He came, preaching in the desert, in the desert of Israel’s existence as it labored under the rule of wealthy and powerful Rome, and under the empty faith of its spiritual leaders.  He preached in […]

Adam and Eve’s sin was to place themselves in place of God by ignoring His commands. But God cannot comingle with sin.  As sinful beings they could not be in the presence of God, in Eden where He resided, to have fellowship with them, where they could fulfill their calling for worship and work in His […]

Adam’s sin brought shame upon himself and his wife.   It also brought God’s judgment.  Our text today describes two responses that serve to close out this chapter in human history.   Adam, now living under the curse of misery in his life, also believes in God’s promise of a redeemer, and names his wife Eve accordingly.  By her childbearing, future […]